Crowdfunding – Blockchain: A Ideal Match, HuffPost

Crowdfunding – Blockchain: A Ideal Match, HuffPost

Crowdfunding & Blockchain: A Ideal Match?

In the last few years, sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo have revolutionized the world for startups. Ideas that didn’t have mainstream business appeal were not only getting off the ground, but flourishing. Blockchain crowdfunding might just be the next step in startup evolution, helping significant and interesting projects come to fruition.

Crowdfunding provides an excellent way for creative projects to find cash. Many puny or obscure projects lay outside of the scope of traditional investment. This makes it very difficult for them to get their ideas off the ground. Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and others switched that, by permitting startups to connect directly with potential consumers in order to seek funding. They acted as a trusted third party to keep the money in escrow, helping to protect potential investors from being scammed. If the funding succeeds, customers get whatever was promised to them as part of the campaign. If not, their money will be sent back.

Blockchain Meets Kickstarter: Is This The Future?

The problem with these established crowdfunding companies is that they are centralized bods, charging high fees and also influencing the projects. Blockchain-based crowdfunding is set to be a game changer because it decentralizes the funding model from the likes of Kickstarter and other companies.

Kickstarter provides a service and there are costs to run that service, so it’s hard to blame them for charging 5% of the total funds received, with an extra 3-5% going towards payment processing. Despite this, it is still expensive. With blockchain’s distributed ledger, there is the potential to liquidate this third party, which will save a considerable amount of the fundraising costs.

Blockchain crowdfunding works by permitting startups to create their own digital currencies and sell them. This permits them to raise funds from early investors, while the investors also have the potential to make money if the value of their cryptographic shares increases.

Some advocates consider this a more unspoiled form of crowdfunding, because it liquidates any intermediaries standing inbetween the backers and the startup. It also has the potential to boost fresh blockchain platforms, because it will give the blockchain community a fresh way to fund its own projects. It appeals to the more anarchistic blockchain enthusiasts as well, because it permits them to avoid traditional funding methods.

How Does Blockchain Crowdfunding Work?

It is similar to Kickstarter, with the creators posting their project and then soliciting funds from a community of interested people. Where it differs is that the startups will be able to make their own cryptocurrency to sell to potential backers. These cryptocurrency tokens will be accounted for and kept track of by the blockchain, which makes it immutable and unlikely to forge. The tokens represent shares in the project, and just like normal shares in the stock market, they have the potential to go up in value. These investments are referred to as cryptoequity.

OpenLedger is one of the numerous projects that are popping up to apply blockchain technology to the field of crowdfunding. The parent company, CCEDK, spotted OpenLedger as a fresh chance to provide something valuable to their users. According to Forbes, the OpenLedger platform aims to bring “excellent fresh ideas and people” to investors via the world. OpenLedger functions as a trading platform, where investors can instantaneously trade their cryptoequity. CCEDK will hold the money in escrow, which permits companies to access much-needed funds and also reduces the risks for investors.

When a company wants to begin crowdfunding, they will release Initial Coin Suggesting OpenLedger (ICOO) assets, which are the cryptoequity. If the company does well, these tokens can increase in value, as well as be traded on OpenLedger according to the desires and speculation of investors.

Stratis Raised Over $100 zero Through Blockchain Crowdfunding

On the opposite side of the equation is Stratis, a UK-based company that is working on a unique blockchain development platform that aims to reduce the time it takes to create blockchain apps. As you can imagine, it is often difficult to secure funding when you work with technology that the establishment is dragging its feet on.

Stratis turned to blockchain-based crowdfunding to acquire the much needed funds. They are developing a Bitcoin utter knot framework, which will serve as the foundation for their own service. They sought funds with an initial coin suggesting (ICO) and the tokens are used for the parent and side chains of the network. Investors can use the tokens to pay for the use of blockchain as a service or for dapp hosting functionality.

The ICO only accepted Bitcoins, but over $100 zero was raised for the project. The funds are stored in a multisig account, but only one of three keys is held by Stratis. This ensures that an employee can’t run off with the money and it protects the investors.

And, it goes without telling, with fresh technology comes fresh chance. Pandora’s box has been open and the future is looking bright.

Related video:

Tags:

Related Posts

The 1% don’t use Bitcoin Exchanges Given that the Brexit is still fresh in our minds — the big question of “how will the global financial elite diversify their assets” is one that every money manager and their clients are discussing this weekend. Fine timing for a Bitcoin post! I sent a tweet out earlier […]

Square founder Jack Dorsey talks bitcoin and says blockchain is the ‘next big unlock’ Photo by Douglas Fairbairn/The Computer History Museum If you’ve been hearing or reading a lot about blockchain but you still aren’t entirely certain how to define it, you’re not alone. It’s something that Jack Dorsey, the chief executive officer and chairman […]